That lucky lady in Stepney
by Terfle
Summary: Bernie remembers Serena from a previous life. Serena takes a little longer to figure it out. Serious smut
1. Chapter 1

Bernie sat and twirled the pen in her fingers, musing on her stupidity. How could she not have realised? She'd never caught her name but surely she'd have recognised the other woman anywhere. And why hadn't Serena recognised her? After the night they'd had, Bernie felt like she could flatter herself a little bit. The fact that it was nearly 30 years ago didn't seem to matter. She knew she'd changed her hair quite drastically soon after, going much shorter and blonder, the bright shade showing up her reddish-brown roots to shame. But she had liked the way it made her look more self-assured and made her feel less like a schoolgirl. It felt very much like her now, the way that Serena had taken Edward's name all those years ago and had kept it because it effortlessly tripped off the tongue. The Harvard beginning and beyond bore the name Campbell and while she thought it was a great way to wind up her mother at the time, the novelty of being shot down in flames with Edward had very quickly worn off. But instead of lamenting at the name she had foolishly saddled herself with in her profession, she had made it her own and flung it around to make a reputation for herself. Bernie appreciated that. Serena was very resourceful.

As for Bernie's hair, the previous style was in a pre-Marcus era and that didn't suit him. He knew her as a blonde, he'd never really cared for her natural colour (too much effort to dye her muff and really, who did that but glamorous spies in wartime?) and after so many years, she didn't think she did either.

She tapped impatiently on the desk when all those images came flooding back like a forgotten film reel.

 _ **August 1985, a house party in Stepney**_

 _Through the cigarette smoke she saw faces, ages, clothes of all kinds while she lounged in the semi dark in a tight black dress, turquoise jacket slung over her shoulders. She couldn't even remember his name; around her height, sandy blonde hair and an eager face. Another posh boy._ _She laughed at his joke but it wasn't that funny._ _She made him wait while she turned to someone next to her and engaged in pointless conversation but she had little excuse to continue, considering following him to one of the spare bedrooms so they could languidly shag, bored by the company and drunk on beer. Except, like a bolt of lightning, there she was, just as Bernie had looked up and taken his hand. The girl in the purple dress looked over his shoulder to look straight at her. She turned to him and chatted for a few seconds, Bernie still holding his hand like she was rehearsing for a production of Romeo and Juliet. He looked at Bernie and pulled her up, told her that he was free and she'd better not pass up the opportunity. She was too tipsy to think straight and let him lead her there. Only when the door closed, it wasn't by either of them. She'd followed them there. He collapsed onto the bed while the mysterious girl asked her if she really wanted to._

' _I think so' Bernie said uncertainly, not sure what she was agreeing to. The girl was pretty, dark hair curling on her shoulder and intense eyes. There was a gleeful twitch of the lips and Bernie felt excitement snake through her body. She didn't know why but when the girl walked past her to the boy on the bed, whispered in his ear and slowly undid his waistband, Bernie knew she couldn't let her go. Sliding his trousers down, she smiled at him in a way that made Bernie's heart lurch. She wanted this girl to look at her that way. It didn't take long for what she wanted to come true. She shed her clothes for that inviting smile, not for that boy._


	2. Chapter 2

The lady herself bustled through the door and dropped a stack of files on the desk. She enquired about the reason for the distraction but Bernie could only just stare at her. Her hair was much shorter and choppier now, grey strands peeking their way through but the mischievous eyes were the same, that flirty smile a giveaway. If she recognised Bernie, she gave no hint to it. Bernie got on with her days while hoping that Serena would know that she'd remembered her for a while now.

Serena had thought there was something familiar about Bernie but could never place it. Occasionally something niggled at her and she wondered if she'd met her before but it wasn't until that wonderful honk of laughter reached her ears for the first time did something flash through her mind.

Bernie looked awkward now, fringe covering her face as she ducked her head and answered monosyllabically.

'Bernie, is there something bothering you?'

She did that endearing hair tuck and finally looked up to smile tentatively at her. A flicker of recognition flared in Serena's brain and it was her turn to stare. She knew that look. She did know this woman.

 _ **August 1985, a house party in Stepney**_

 _Serena sat inbetween his legs and worked deft fingers up and down his shaft. He groaned and put his hands on her shoulders. She took the hint and started licking to drive him crazy, slowly enveloping him in her mouth. He sighed and stroked his hands through her hair as she sighed softly, turned on by the tension in the room. It crackled between her and the other girl which intrigued her. Serena didn't hide her appreciation of the slim angular curve of her body. She stood watchfully behind him stroking his neck and hair but when it became clear that he wanted it rougher than Serena was prepared to participate in, she leapt into action to restrain him._

 _Bernie felt like the dynamics had changed and he'd cast her aside. He wanted his cock sucked by the pretty brunette, he got it. Bernie kept her focus on her, irrationally annoyed that he was getting her attention. She tensed as the interloper (because really he was irrelevant) kept pushing the girl's head down as she struggled not to choke. Bernie couldn't stand it a second longer once he started trying to hold her head down. She tore his hands away and slapped him hard. His cry shattered the lazy atmosphere as she ordered him to keep his hands off. She was trembling at her audacity. She'd never done anything like that before. He stared at her and she took advantage of his silence to roughly turn his head to kiss him forcefully. She ignored his gasp and carried on pretending that she wanted him, giving him the energy that she wanted to keep for this other girl. She hoped that she knew it was a distraction._

' _Let's play a game' said Bernie, eyes like flint as his expression changed to intrigue. She had asserted herself to catch his attention and it worked. Bernie felt exhilarated, how had she never done this before? She'd commanded attention for the first time in her life and felt liberating._

 _She took a scarf from the dresser, took his hands and tied them behind his back. He half-heartedly struggled for a few seconds but as she wrapped another around his eyes, he let her do as she pleased. She caught the other girl's eye and got a smouldering smile in return._

 _Serena didn't take long to finish him off, her mild interest in what he could do for her vanishing. She impatiently directed him to spend on the sheets while she kept her eyes on the girl with the crooked smile. There was a triumphant gleam in her eyes and she kept a hand on his head to stroke his hair; his ear, his neck, sensation overload. He thought he'd won the lottery with these two but really, they were just distracting the pawn in their game._

 _Stealing a drink from the bottle on the dresser, Serena worked up the courage to knock her hand away and grab her in a fierce kiss, her hand on her chin to keep her there. She pushed her to the bed and laid on top of her, anchoring her to the spot, warming her veins with their spark. The girl sighed at her touch._


	3. Chapter 3

'You changed your hair.'

Serena was staring at her as if she'd seen her for the first time. In a way, she was seeing her for the first time. In nearly 30 years she'd remembered that night at odd moments, moments that came out of nowhere to assault her senses, usually when she least expected it.

'So did you.'

Serena touched the back of her head self-consciously.

'Chopped it off after my divorce. Just felt like a change. Much more practical in the end. Not quite as drastic as you.' She nodded to Bernie's mop.

'I wanted to look different, maybe feel like a different person. I went heavy on the boxed blonde and kept it that way. I guess it made me feel more confident.'

Thinking back to that night, Serena could see the logic. She'd never even known the mysterious girl's name. She had seemed meek and shy but there was a flash of stubbornness and a taste for lustful debauchery that Serena had wanted to draw out. She remembered that long reddish-brown hair being tossed over a shoulder to let Serena kiss that freckled patch of skin, the soft swish and the smell of smoke caught in the strands. She'd been fooled by the messy short bright blonde style, she hadn't recognised her at all. She scanned the face before her and remembered her eyes. Dark and impermeable. She remembered the dark moles on her stomach and under her bottom straight away but those eyes should have reminded her. She felt like such a fool.

'I feel like such a fool.'

Bernie shook her head and smiled. 'It took me more time than it should have to recognise you.'

'You've disguised yourself with that hair. I never would have known it was you.'

'When did you think of that night?'

'You have the most distinctive laugh.'

Bernie remembered she'd complimented her on it. It was the first time anyone ever had.

 _ **August 1985, a house party in Stepney**_

 _Bernie wanted to do things she'd never thought of doing before. This girl was driving her crazy. She tasted of gin and lemonade and her skin was the softest thing she'd ever felt under her fingers, breasts so different to her own. They tied the male nuisance to the bedframe and left him there, scarf slipping to his neck where he could watch them with greedy eyes._

 _Bernie let her newfound arrogance take over as she pushed the girl back onto the pillows and continued kissing her. She'd never taken the lead before and she liked having someone else's legs wrapped around her._

 _Serena couldn't figure out if it was the drink or she was in her right mind but didn't hesitate in running her hands over an unknown body. This other girl was lean and Amazonian, a type that Serena watched in fascination all the time. She herself was built a little sturdier but that hadn't deterred anyone yet, least of all this girl. Her hand ghosted lower and Serena willed her to do it, stroke her the way she'd hoped for but she could tell she wasn't sure about initiating. Serena guided those trembling fingers where she wanted and gave her a hint. Those eyes promised her intensity and once steered in the right direction, kept their promise. Those fingers flared up the heat she'd been waiting for, scorched their kisses and lit the touch paper. Serena slammed her head back into the pillows and desperately moaned at those careful clever fingers teasing her, bringing her to the edge and catching her back until she couldn't stand it any longer._

 _The panting and groaning by the bedframe reminded them of their irritating little hanger on, he was enjoying this but he would soon get bored. It was getting tiresome but they had to throw something his way. The other girl sighed with impatience and looked over._

 _Heart beating wildly, Serena took advantage of the distraction and manoeuvred herself lower so she could slide her hands up those long legs and just do it. She'd never done it before and hoped the other girl would like it._ _She hoped she would like it._ _She pressed her lips to that inviting seam and swiped her tongue past._

 _Bernie jumped as if she'd had an electric shock and a sound she'd never made echoed through the air. She hadn't recognised it as hers. Panicked eyes met a playful gaze that dared her to enjoy it. Barely believing what she was doing, Bernie slowly knelt over her, submitting to an experience she'd never had before. She later learned that the touch of a man was different and while she'd always enjoyed being treated to a tongue lashing, it was often she would lie back and think of this girl, wishing it was her doing it._


	4. Chapter 4

'I'd never done anything like that before.'

'Neither had I.'

Typical Serena to throw herself in wholeheartedly and improvise. In the wake of their awkward, wonderful kiss, Serena had told her that it had been no big deal, she'd kissed a girl in Stepney once. She admitted later that she'd never been more than just friends before but hadn't mentioned that girl again. Bernie wished she had known it had been her then, she imagined telling her who it had been just to watch the shock on Serena's face. She wanted to shake her up, make her see through Bernie's insistent lie that it had been nothing.

She felt stupid for not making the connection between Serena then and now. There was the irrepressible charm, the sparkling eyes and the ability to blag her way through almost any situation. She had still all of that even thought it was now wrapped up in a fetching array of luridly patterned and coloured blouses.

 _ **August 1985, a house party in Stepney**_

 _They'd untied him and let him stray over to their side of the bed. He went to Bernie, rubbing his hands over her nipples and she arched into his touch. She wasn't thinking of him at all. He pushed her back on top of Serena and eased in his hard length, making Bernie sigh sharply. Serena hoped she was comfortable and stroked her face as the bed creaked and his moans matched his motions. Bernie was conscious of the pounding she was getting but focused on the warmth and weight of Serena's hands on her. Lowering herself a little, she propped herself on one arm and used the other hand to trace her fingers back to stroke the girl under her. Tuning him out, they only had eyes for each other, their kisses meaning something only to them as they stayed lost in their own world._


	5. Chapter 5

_**August 1985, a house party in Stepney**_

 _They'd left with a parting glance, no words spoken, just a touch on the cheek and she was gone._

'I don't remember his name. Do you?'

Serena shook her head. He wasn't important.

Bernie confessed that she hadn't been with a woman again until Alex. The one who helped break up her marriage. It had crept up on her without realising and the spark had been reignited. Serena admitted that she'd never looked at another woman since. She'd been firmly on the man wagon until she'd failed in finding even one who could live up to her standards. She'd abandoned reasonable hope after that.

Their night had been filed under the folder of life marked _young and stupid_ and they thought it had been the end of it. They didn't say it but the implication that they'd remembered the night all too well lingered between them. It made things more than a little charged when it happened again. Another touch, another kiss, another stressful situation.

Different hair, new scars and recent revelations made no difference when they finally decided what they wanted. Sometimes true love needed a little luck.


End file.
